


Lost and Found

by fairyfires



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Can that be a tag?, M/M, One Shot Collection, Tags May Change, also fair warning, for now this is all gonna be generally fluffy but idk about later on, i update as inspiration strikes and that's not always a guarantee w/ writing lmao, i'd like to say there won't be angst but knowing my dumb ass?? no promises, im making that a tag, its 1 am and no one's here to stop me, rated for language, the insanely gay jared kleinman, the orchard and roadtrips are recurring themes, there is no upload schedule on this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-13 11:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16016831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairyfires/pseuds/fairyfires
Summary: Connor Murphy was content to keep others at arm's length. He was content with the distance he put between himself and everyone else, because that buffer meant they'd never get close enough to hurt him.It's just too bad that Jared Kleinman never got the fucking memo.[ conman/kleinphy oneshots ]





	1. where the wildflowers grow

Jared sat with his legs crossed in the tall grass, elbows on his knees and chin propped up on his hands. He watched intently as a ladybug crawled lazily over one of Connor’s hands, taking off as it reached the knuckle of his ring finger. Connor was lying on his back just in front of him, his hands rested over his stomach and eyes closed. His breathing was deep and his expression subdued; anyone else would have assumed he'd fallen asleep, but Jared knew better.

Connor wasn't often at peace with the world around him – and neither was Jared, really, but they dealt with it in vastly different ways. Somewhere along the way, however, the old orchard became a place of peace for the both of them. They visited  it whenever they needed to put life on hold for a while. Lost in the gnarled apple trees and uncut grass, Connor didn't have to uphold his defensive anger to push everyone away; and Jared could just shut up for once in his life and stop hiding behind his sense of humor.

Jared glanced up from Connor as if he'd forgotten where he was. It was nice - the silence only broken by crickets, the smell of wildflowers and apples, the sun setting behind the trees, distance between Jared and all of the things that made him anxious, or angry, or uncomfortable, or sad. His eyes drifted back down to Connor. The fading sunlight filtering through the leaves left a golden glow over his black hair, splayed out around his head carelessly. By his shoulder, a few wild daisies grew. He wondered if Connor had been careful not to crush them when he'd laid down, or if he'd noticed them at all.

Jared smiled a soft smile reserved for Connor alone, taking in his peaceful expression like he hadn't already done it a million times over.

As quietly as he could, Jared shuffled himself closer to his head, plucking a wild daisy from the grass. Connor took a deep breath.

“Jared,” he started monotonously. “if you throw grass in my face, I'm gonna fucking punch you.”

“Yeah, but you won't,” Jared chimed. Carefully - as if Connor was a work of art and he was afraid of smudging the paint - he tucked the daisy behind his ear.

Connor’s nose screwed up as he opened his eyes, his hand moving to swat away the flower; he stopped short, feeling over the petals cautiously instead. Connor abandoned the daisy to reach over his head, grabbing onto Jared’s jacket. “Lay down with me.”

Jared didn't protest; and he didn't have any witty comments to impart on him, either. He laid down beside Connor, ignoring the subtle itch of grass on his neck, daisies growing between their shoulders and Connor’s fingers interlocked with his own.


	2. from here to home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: Connor Murphy Needs To Keep Both Hands On The Fucking Wheel

Connor _hated_ driving in the rain.

The rain itself wasn’t the problem; it was the god-awful screech of his windshield wipers over the glass. To be completely fair, they were old and worn, and in desperate need of replacing - but when it came to his car, Connor was a chronic procrastinator. He hadn’t expected to pay for his neglect for the last 90-mile leg of the drive, but the rain wasn’t letting up, and the sound wasn’t getting any less abrasive. Normally, he would have blasted whatever CD he first grabbed to drown it out, but…

Connor stole a glance at the passenger’s side. Jared had his elbow propped up on the door, his head resting heavily against his hand. In the other, he held his phone; Google Maps was still pulled up on the screen, illuminating his face just enough that Connor could see his glasses sitting crooked on his nose. Jared had been asleep for a good half hour or so - he'd clocked out on Connor right after they'd left the gas station a few exits back. Jared had promised him that he’d stay awake for the rest of the drive; Connor really hadn’t been counting on it. The moment Jared’s head had touched the glass, Connor knew he would be down for the count.

Connor refused to turn the music up. He’d put up with the squeak and squeal of the windshield wipers if it meant Jared could get a little more sleep on the ride back. Barely taking his eyes off of the road, Connor reached over, searching out the lock button on Jared’s phone carefully. He was fine following the signs back home, even if he didn’t know the way by heart. They'd get there _eventually_ , if nothing else.

He hadn’t been careful enough, unfortunately. No sooner than the screen had darkened, Jared took a deep breath that turned into a yawn, lifting his head as if it took all the effort in the world. Jared stretched his legs out best he could in the cramped car - he was trying to wake himself up, Connor noted. “Con…?”

God, if that sleepy voice of Jared’s didn’t melt his heart every time he heard it. “Hey,” Connor murmured. “Go back to sleep. We’ve still got an hour or two.”

“You sure?”

Jared’s head had already rolled back against the seat. He was fighting valiantly against his exhaustion, but it was an uphill battle that he wouldn't be winning. Connor’s gaze stayed on the road, but he was almost positive that Jared had already closed his eyes. “Yeah. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

“‘kay,” Jared hummed, fumbling for the button to recline his seat.

Before he could drift off again, Jared reached over the console to rest his hand on Connor’s thigh. Connor dropped one hand from the steering wheel to lace his fingers through Jared’s, squeezing his hand gently, and sincerely hoped that he couldn’t see the stupid, love-struck grin on Connor’s face. With a sigh of contentment, Jared fell asleep with his head turned towards the window.

The windshield wipers didn’t sound quite so horrendous anymore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uploading this from the kitchen @ work like a fucking hooligan so I'll come back to check for spelling errors later 
> 
> hit me up on Tumblr if you have requests or wanna talk, I'm at @whatareyouanacorn!


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